Children of the Gods: The Hidden Goddess
by Rubystar52411
Summary: After 7 different foster homes and many schools, Peggy thought her life couldn't get any worse. Oh how wrong she was. First she discovers that Greek myths are real, not only that but she's a big part of them. Percy Jackson OC. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! Welcome to my first attempt at an OC fanfic (Also my first fic in general)! I hope you enjoy this. I'll try to update as often as possible but I can't make any promises. If I get anything wrong or you have any suggestions for future plot points please let me know; though I already have quite a bit of the story planned. Also, a huge thanks to my friend Hannah54301 (HannahCole7 on wattpad) for helping me to brainstorm parts of this story and for being my personal fanfiction consultant. So, without further ado, here we go:**

 **I do not own PJO.**

 **Chapter 1.**

My name is Peggy. I have blonde hair with curls twisting into shape near the ends. I'm slightly taller than average and my physical ability is beyond that of most girls at my school. Though, my grades aren't so impressive; I was cursed with major ADHD and dyslexia early on.

My entire life has just been one giant rollercoaster ride. I've had my ups and downs just like any other person, but sometimes I think I can never have something good that will last. School after school, foster home after foster home. I've had this eternal feeling of not belonging, especially when I was originally told I was found on the streets of New York. Why did this happen to me? Someone, someone out there hadn't cared enough to keep me as a helpless child.

Enough about my problems, let's talk a little about the peaks in this amusement park ride called my life. I'm currently in my 7th foster care home and have an amazing little sister. Her name is Alaine. I've spent 3 years in this place which is much longer than any other one I've been to. I've met lots of amazing people but those friendships never last for long.

This might sound crazy to some of you, but sometimes I… see things. Things that aren't truly there. I've tried to explain my problem to doctors and therapists ten times over but they all give me the same lame excuse. "It's just your ADHD acting up." Or "Girls your age often have wild imaginations." But I know I'm not seeing things! It's all real, I swear! I often find myself staring at strange cloud formations above Manhattan, crazy looking people walking normally among the common people or strange flying objects streaking across the sky.

This is the day in which the roller coaster that controls me threw loops, corkscrews and freefalls at me.

"Come on Alaine! We should have left for school 10 minutes ago!" Alaine scrambled out of her room and scraped her breakfast into her mouth. We ran out the door and made our way to the subway.

Alaine and I rode the subway to her Elementary school and I dropped her off there. "Remember to wait for me after school gets out!" I shouted through the small crack of the closing subway doors. I found my way to an open seat on the moving train and sat down. I looked at my phone and started scrolling through the local news.

Not long after, something caught my eye. A horrible looking woman with leathery skin who was staring directly at me. And when I say staring, I mean she hadn't blinked in the minute and a half I had been looking back. She had a creepy smile on her face and that evil look in her eye that you see in your teachers when they give you 4 hours of homework. When the train came to my stop I exited quickly because I wanted to get away from this lady as fast as I could.

I swept out of the subway tunnel, careful not to look behind me.

I walked the remaining block of the trip to my school. I attended Goode high school but this was only my first year. "Peggy! What's up? You look like you just walked through a haunted house!" My friend Alethea (Thea for short) exclaimed. Alethea had strawberry blond hair that was perfectly strait each day and light brown eyes that looked like they could pull every secret from your soul. Thea was great to me, she was pretty and talented enough to be the most popular girl in school; yet she hangs out with me.

"Hey, sorry just a creepy person in the sub'. Probably mentally ill or something." Though I knew that wasn't the case, I lied to her.

"Welcome to New York girl." She sighed, "So! You ready for class?"

"Yeah, let's go." I replied quietly. Just before we walked through the doors, I discretely peeked over my shoulder at the street. At the time, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary but looking back on it, I know she was there. That woman was still following me.

I expected 1st period to be super boring as usual but it turned out not to be too bad. My first hour teacher preferred to go by his first name so that's what we called him. Our teacher, Paul announced our newest unit: Greek Mythology. Greek mythology is one of the only things in the entire world that interests me. Paul was a pretty good teacher and I knew he had a son who was here at Goode. I knew what he looked like because there was a picture of him on Paul's desk. I think his name was P-Peirce? Something like that. He's got jet black hair that sweeps over his forehead flawlessly. His eyes are a greenish-blue tint and I believe he's a Sophomore this year. Funny story about Peirce (Peter? Perce? I wasn't sure): people say that even before his first year here at Goode, he was framed for starting a fire in the band room! Turns out it was just some psycho cheerleader. But was creeps me out is that he disappeared for most of that year after the incident. I've caught myself wondering a lot-where did he go?

Anyways, back to class- Paul began to give us the basic background information on Greek myths. He told about Kronos, the titan lord, who ate his children, the gods, when they were children. And how after they grew up inside him, Zeus cut his father into pieces and freed them. One thing I found strange is how Paul referred to the gods and the titans and gods. He never said 'It was believed by the Greeks' or 'In the Greek myths' he told these stories like it was local news. After listening intently for the remainder of class and taking absolutely no notes, I walked out of the classroom with Thea.

Until lunch things went normal. "Eww… meatloaf patties? That is so gross." Thea stated bluntly. I had to agree with her-when I looked around the lunchroom I couldn't find a single person eating their lunch. They were all just talking or throwing the meatloaf at the table next to them. "What do you say we just go grab some fast food for lunch? We do have an hour to eat."

"Definitely." I replied quickly. I wanted to get out of the cafeteria before a patty projectile hit me in the face. Thea left and I quickly followed her footsteps out the door.

Once outside we decided to go to a sandwich shop across the street. We found a table in the corner of the restaurant, next to the window. I ordered a PB&J panini and Thea got a turkey and cheese sandwich. We sat waiting for our food and talked.

"Can you believe there's only three and a half weeks of school left?" I asked quizzically.

"No, seems crazy, doesn't it? Seems like only yesterday we walked into Goode for our first day. Even before that I'd heard so many stories about this place." Thea retorted.

"Like what?"

"Lots of things. Clutch football games, fights between kids, somebody spray painting a picture of the principal outside, priceless! Oh, and how could I forget? That out-of-nowhere fire last year. I heard that kid Percy Jackson was framed for starting it." _Percy! That was it!_ I thought.

"Yeah that sounded crazy. Glad I wasn't there to see it, though it was all over the news." Our food arrived at the table and we began to eat. I was having a pretty enjoyable time here with Thea, I should've known it wasn't going to last long.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw that old woman walk in. I nearly choked on my food when I saw her.

"Are you ok?" Thea asked, concerned.

I coughed a little then replied, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's just that lady who was following me around this morning." Thea raised an eyebrow at me, then looked over her shoulder to the doors.

"Who?"

"There. Sitting alone in that booth." I had my finder aimed at her face so Thea could see who I was talking about. Thea looked at the lady for a second, then to me, back to lady, finally her gaze returned to me.

"Girl, are you crazy? That's just an old woman eating a bowl of soup. What is so scary about her?" Thea's eyes were wide and her nostrils flared.

"Just forget I said anything." Thea sighed and we both went back to eating our food.

Just before we had finished, I noticed some walk into the shop. It was that kid, Percy. He was looking around the café, carefully examining each table. His eyes quickly darted around until they rested on the table with the old woman. Percy grimaced and went to sit at a table near her. When the waiter came over to take his order he quickly waved her away, not looking away from the old woman.

Thea soon broke my trace, "All done! You ready to go?" I blinked at her and must've looked like I was hypnotized for a second.

I shook my head violently and squeaked, "I have to use the bathroom-go back to school without me. I'll be right there."

"You sure? I can wait."

"No, no don't. I'll be fine."

Thea's eye squinted at me but then she released the tension. "Sure, ok. I'll see you 6th hour I guess." She plowed out the door and crossed the street back to school but she wasn't the one I was worried about.

The old woman looked between me and Percy and her eyes widened. She quickly rushed out the door and around the left side off the building. I wasn't going to lose her _this_ easily. I shouldered through the doors and followed here around the wall. I entered a dark alley scattered with trash and fire escaped dotting the brick walls. I couldn't see the woman anywhere. Once I was fully behind the building she slid out of the shadows. Her eyes glowed a deep red and she had a horrid smile. I whipped around determined to get out of here but that didn't go so well. Another old woman leaped down from one of the fire escapes and landed in front of me. She had wickedly sharp teeth that dripped with saliva. _Help me!_

Just then, both the old women started to change… they went from looking like they were 100 to 1000. Leathery wings unfurled from their backs, and their faces flattened out. Their ears began to point and they fell into a hunched stature. They looked like they could put on some serious hurt, they had claws that looked as sharp as knifes.

The two creatures glared at me. The one behind me spoke in a raspy voice, "Where half-blood!? Where is the god's child!? Where has your kind taken her, what have you done to her!?" I turned around to look at her but I was too terrified to say anything. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. "RAAH!" The monster screamed in my face as she gripped my shoulders. It felt like she was about to rip my arms off. The second creature clasped her hands around my neck from behind. She began to choke me, stopping me from taking in another breath. "TELL US WHERE THE CHILD IS!" They both screeched at the same.

"I-I… I don't know-" I couldn't breathe or speak any longer, the monster's hands were so tight around me. The claws around my neck began to dig in, blood began to seep out of my wounds. _This… this is it for me. My friend Thea, will live the rest of her life thinking my death was her fault. Alaine, I was the big sister she had wanted all her life… and now I was about to leave it forever. No… this can't be it. Who dies like this? Not even knowing what their purpose in life is? Heck, I don't even know why I am dying._ My thoughts began to blur, the pain was all I could feel. I was dead. _Is this what death feels like? Pain? Why should w-_ My thoughts were cut off. Cut off by a blood-curdling scream. No, a war cry. _I'm not dead! I won't die!_ My eyes shot open. I saw one thing and one thing only- Percy Jackson.

 **Wow! What a 1** **st** **chapter! I hope you enjoyed. Chapter 2 will be out as soon as I get it done. Happy reading my friends!**

 **I do not own PJO.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi Everyone! I'll be posting this same story on wattpad. And also, this story is taking place right after The Last Olympian and before The Heroes of Olympus series; so there won't be any mention of Camp Jupiter or Jason, Piper, Leo, etc. Let chapter 2 commence!**

 **I do not own PJO.**

 **Chapter 2.**

I stayed conscious for only a few more seconds. All I saw and felt was Percy ripping the monster's claws from my neck. There was a loud thud as I hit the ground, barely catching myself with my hands. I sprained both my wrists at the very least. I took one last look up and saw Percy with a 3-foot-long bronze sword, slashing at one of the monsters- right into her shoulder. My vision went black.

There was a light tap on my cheek. I heard a faint voice but I couldn't tell exactly what it was saying. A few seconds later, the person next to me placed their fingers under the side of my chin- I can only assume to look for my pulse. The voice continued but now I could vaguely make out the words.

"Hey, are you ok? Can you breathe fine?" The voice was frantic but maintained composure.

My eyes fluttered open slightly but the sight was blurry. There was the vague shape of a human head with black hair. It was at this moment when I suddenly realized the pain all over my body. I had an extreme headache, the sides of my neck were raw and my wrists hurt excruciatingly. I quickly curled into a ball and pulled my hands in close to my chest. The sound that came out of my mouth next I can only describe as a helpless animal who accepted their fate of death.

The face in front of me grimaced as he pulled something out of his pocket. It looked like a lemon bar except it was all smashed up. "Here, eat this. I promise it will help." They held it out towards me while taking a bite out of another bar. I began to lift my hand up to grab it only to snap it back towards myself because of the pain. I think they realized I couldn't feed myself so they gently pulled open my jaw and placed it in my mouth. I chewed on it, slowly, as every movement worsened my headache.

After swallowing the food, the pain seemed to leave -mostly. There was still a lingering ache in my head and wrists and I could tell the cuts on my neck weren't anywhere near healed. I looked up at my savior… it was Percy! Of course! Thoughts came to me as if rushing through a flood gate. I remembered the old woman in the subway. I recalled the monsters who attacked me and how Percy had come to my rescue. _Did all of that really happen?_

I tipped my head back and took deep, steady breaths. Making sure to count to count to 5 seconds for each in and inhale and exhale. Realizing I should probably thank him, I sat up quickly. A sharp pain hit me and I was forced to lay back down.

"Woah there! Ambrosia is good but not that good." His voice was humorous, even at a time like this. "Why don't you just take a few more minutes to lie there. You can have a little more ambrosia if you'd like." He said as he placed his hand on my forehead.

I lifted my hand up a slightly, palm facing upwards to signal that I wanted more. He gave me another piece and I ate it, this time savoring the taste. It was an amazing sensation, it tasted like gourmet cheesecake with a hint of lemon. _Wow…_

This time when I tried to sit up, I slowly lifted my head and pulled my legs into a crisscross position.

I looked at Percy in what must've been the most puzzled way ever because he giggled quietly for a second. He held out his hand for a shake. I took it gingerly for my wrist was still in a painful state. He shook it gently and spoke in a quiet tone, "Hello, my name's Percy Jackson, son of-" His voice trailed off and he squinted his at my face. He asked, "You don't know do you?"

"Know what?" I questioned. At this point I could've been having the most realistic dream ever, for all I knew.

"Know about umm…" He stopped himself for a second. "You're thirteen, aren't you?"

"Fourteen actually." I corrected.

"Oh, my gods. So much for my deal!" He mumbled something about unreliability. "So you really don't know huh? Well I suppose now as a good a time as any to tell you. Are you familiar with any Greek myths?"

"Fairly, we just started our Greek mythology unit in Paul's class." The edges of his lips curled up slightly at the mention of Paul's name.

"Well, you see, the gods from those so-called myths are real." Percy waited for a few seconds to let that sink in. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! "You have to trust me. Just think about it. You have probably seen strange things all your life, what else could explain it?" Now that he said it, I started to connect the dots in my head. The strange flying objects and the monsters who had just attacked me; that couldn't be a coincidence of any kind.

"So, say that you're telling the truth. What does this have to do with me at all?" I quizzed, squinting my eyes at him.

"Do recall in the old stories how the Gods would come down from Olympus, fall in love with mortals and have children?" I nodded and let him continue, though I knew by the way he asked where this conversation was going. "You, I and many others are the children of the Gods."

I raised my eyebrows at him, "But, why me?"

"Demigods often ask that question of themselves. The life of a demigod is hard, we often die in our teens; some even earlier than that." He looked down at his hands as if mourning about something. "However, if you manage to survive- this life can open up so many opportunities for you. You'll get to meet new friend and get the chance to go on quests with them."

"Wait, quests?" I was beyond confused at this point.

"Oh, wow. I'm really sorry. This must be a lot for you take in right now." He smiled at me and rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe the best thing to do for you would be to take you to camp."

"I can't leave! I have school and my friends are probably worried about me! Not to mention I have to take my little sister home tonight!" I exclaimed.

Percy held up his hands in front of him. "I'm sorry but as it stands right now, you are in extreme danger. Because you now know of your heritage, monsters will be much more attracted to you. Plus, you're highly untrained and have no idea how to defend yourself." He looked pleadingly at me. I could tell he really needed me to come with him.

I sighed, "Fine, I'll go for today. Where is this camp anyway?"

"Long Island Sound. I'll call us a ride." He stood up, turned away from me and whistled, loud. "Our ride should be here in just a few minutes. How are you feeling about all this? I mean, it must be quite a shock."

"Of course it's a shock. I know that you're telling the truth about it because the pieces fit but I don't want to believe it. Honestly, I'm a bit scared after what you described." I ran my fingers through my blond hair. My hair was dirty with mud and looked like it had blood on it. "Oh, my gosh!" I touched the side of my neck and looked at my hand. It was caked in blood.

Percy quickly grabbed my hands and pulled them away from my wounds. "Hey, hey, you're going to be fine."

I pulled away my hands and placed them into my lap.

"Those are some deep cuts so the ambrosia was unable to heal them. But rest assured, you will be ok. When we get to camp I'll have someone from the Apollo cabin heal you."

I nodded and stood up. To my left I saw a puddle so I walked over to it; naturally wanting to see what I looked like after the attack. I wasn't surprised when I found four deep gashes on either side of my neck from the monster's claws. I also had a cut on my forehead, probably from falling over.

My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden loud thumping coming from the other end of the alley. When I whipped my head around to look, I saw a jet-black stallion. It was beautiful, and it had wings? "A Pegasus?" I asked.

"Yup!" Percy said as he mounted the stallion. He held out his hand to help me up.

"But how did you summon it?" I questioned as I took his hand and swung my leg over the Pegasus' back.

"Oh, right. I never told you. My father is Poseidon. God of the seas and creator of horses. That reminds me, I never caught your name." He patted the side of the Pegasus and began to run. After it ran about 20 feet, it shot into the air and rose above New York.

"My name's Peggy!" I had to shout over the roar of the wind. Percy smiled and nodded at me then turned back around to face the head of the Pegasus. I must say: Flying on a Pegasus was one of the most amazing feelings ever. The wind felt great on my face, despite all my cuts. Neither of us spoke as we flew for a while.

A vast area of strawberry fields came into view and Percy spoke. "We've arrived!" I was confused, I thought he said this was a camp, not a strawberry farm. The Pegasus we were riding began to descend.

"You have to be kidding-" I wasn't sure what I was seeing. The strawberry fields began to change. Instead they became a grouping of buildings surrounded by woods. The Pegasus landed on the ground with a thump right in front of an arch. I stared trough it at rolling hills dotted with Greek buildings. Above me, the arch had words in Greek on it-surprisingly I could read it. "Camp Half-blood." I said out loud.

Percy smiled at me and waved me in. "Come on, you have lots of people to meet!"

I was still quite skeptical of Percy and this place but after a quick thought I decided to enter. After all, life's no fun if you don't take any chances.

 **Hope you enjoyed. Happy reading my friends!**

 **I do not own PJO.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey again! Glad you stuck around for chapter 3! Chapters will be pretty slow as long as I'm in school but as soon as summer starts we'll kick this fic into high gear! By the way, I will be adding another character of my own creation into this chapter- read to see who it is!**

 **I do not own PJO.**

 **Chapter 3.**

As I passed under the entrance arch, I brushed my hands on the cool marble. It may have been the most sobering thing I had felt all day. _This was real, this was happening to me._ At the time, I was still quite confused. I had no idea how any of this was possible, I just had to accept that it was.

"Come on," Percy snapped me out of my trance. "We'll get you fixed up and into a cabin." At this point I had completely forgotten about my injuries but I could tell they were still there.

"Oh, ok."

Percy walked down the hill towards a clearing. There was a large open area with Greek buildings on either side. There were gatherings of children and by the looks of it they seemed to be between 10 and 18. Each group was doing something different; some were sword fighting, others sharpening weapons and some were even practicing hand to hand combat. Percy looked around at the separate groups of kids and seemed thrilled when he saw one at an archery range. Among them were a few boys, a few girls and a horse? This guy had the body of a horse but the torso and head of a man-a centaur! Things just kept on getting stranger and stranger! Percy ran over to them, light on his feet, and I followed close behind.

"Ready your bows!" The centaur shouted and the kids all notched an arrow on their string. They all lifted their bows and looked down range. "Aim!" All at once they pulled back on their strings and stuck out one finger to point at the target. The centaur took a deep breath, about to tell the kids to fire but Percy cut him off.

"Chiron wait! I need help!" _Chiron, so that was this centaur's name._ Each of the kids slowly allowed their bow strings to move back into resting position. Chiron's tail twitched and he turned to look at Percy.

"Percy! Can't you see I'm in the middle of advanced archery class? Wha-" Chiron stopped as soon as he saw me standing behind Percy. His eyes became wide when he saw the gashes on my neck but it turned into a smile of sympathy. "Ahh, a new camper I see! Archery class dismissed but Will, I'll need you to come with me and help tend to our friend's wounds." Most of the kids dropped their heads and stormed off somewhere else. One was left behind, he smiled and nodded at Chiron.

"Healing, I can do." He said.

"Best go back to the big house then." Chiron retorted and began to trot up a little slope up to a 2-story house. Will, Percy and I followed him there. When we arrived, Chiron told me to sit in a chair so Will could help with my wounds. I complied and sat in a soft chair while Percy sat across a small table from me. Chiron stood next to him.

"Hmm, these are very deep cuts. I'll be able to close them up but it will leave quite prominent scars. Ready?" I wasn't sure how his random kid was just going to heal me, but I allowed him to begin his work by nodding. He started singing a song. I cannot describe how beautiful it sounded though it was in another language. Surprisingly, I could understand a few lyrics. I heard: Oh father-grant my-heal-child of a god. _Curious word choice._

I could feel the gashes on my neck begin to close up and the pain in my wrists disappear. "How did you… how is that even possible?" Percy chuckled a bit but Chiron glared at him.

The boy who had just healed me held out his hand and said, "Will Solace, son of Apollo. Pleased to meet you!" I gladly took his hand and shook it. His hands were soft but they had a tough grip.

"Peggy Barnes. Thank you so much for what you did, though I'm still not sure how you did it."

"I would tell you but I should probably leave all the explaining to Chiron and Percy. Is it ok if I go? The cabin will probably be wanting to get back to archery." Will asked Chiron.

"Yes, of course Will. Thank you for your services." Chiron retorted. Will just nodded and left the house but not before waving bye to me. Chiron turned his gaze to over to me and stared for a second. "Well, I guess I should introduce myself though you probably already figured out who I am. I'm Chiron, trainer of demigods. So, I'm guessing Percy already told you of your peculiar heritage?"

"Yes, sir." I wasn't sure how to address an immortal trainer of demigods so I went for a semi-formal approach.

"Before I go any deeper into it, do you have any questions?" Chiron asked me.

"Yes, just one. If I am supposed to be the child of a god, then which god am I the child of?" I asked. This question had been nagging at the back of my brain ever since I had found out I was a half-blood and I needed an answer, fast.

"Here's the thing, Peggy. Gods claim their children when they feel the time is right, usually soon after they have arrived at camp. The truth is, no one here-not even me-knows who your godly parent is. Until they claim you, you will be classified as undetermined." Chiron looked sorry for me, as if he had seen this same thing many times before.

Just then, Percy spoke up, "Technically, your parent was supposed to claim you by your 13th birthday but that didn't happen. See, I made this deal with the gods after the titan war. The deal was that they couldn't leave any demigods unclaimed because it causes them great pain to not know who they really are. Some demigods even die without ever knowing."

"That's enough Percy, she's probably scared and confused enough already. You will find out soon. Trust me, dear." His voice was soothing, calming in a sort of parental protection way. "Let me continue on with the story of your past."

Chiron, Percy and I talked for about an hour about all the different gods, monsters and the latest titan war. It was all quite fascinating yet terrifying at the same time. It was crazy to think that all of this was going on behind my back without me even knowing.

"All right, Percy, why don't you take her on a tour of camp? Also show her to her new cabin." Chiron instructed Percy.

"Sure thing! Follow me, Peggy." Percy hopped up from his place next to Chiron and I got out of my chair. He led me first around to all the diverse activities you could choose to participate in. This place had an archery range, a climbing wall, canoeing, a battle arena and even a chariot racing track. All of them seemed interesting to me. Then, he showed me around all the cabins. Percy told me whoever your godly parent was determined where you stayed. There was an odd assortment of cabins, each with their unique design. The cabins were in a horseshoe shape surrounding a fire pit. Strangely, there was a young girl tending to the flames. _How could they let someone so young do a dangerous job like that?_

"Hey, Percy." I prompted him to start a conversation with me about the girl.

"Yeah? What's up?" I asked.

"It's kind of strange that such a young girl is tending to the fire, don't you think? Who is she anyways?" I felt a little rude asking but I had to know.

"Her?" Percy asked rhetorically while pointing a finger in the girl's direction, "That's just Hestia." _Hestia… Hestia… I know I've heard that name before, but where? I scrolled through all the Greek mythology names I knew and came to the sudden realization of who she was._

"Woah, Hestia? As in in the Greek Goddess of fire?" I was so surprised by eyebrows must have flown off my face at this point. I mean, a god? Right in front of me? Up until today I had only considered Greek myths to be, well, just that: myths. Now, here I was, standing 30 feet from a god.

"The hearth actually. The Greek god of fire is Hephaestus." Percy corrected me. It was so strange to me how casual Percy was about talking about gods.

"Oh, I see." I decided to put those thoughts in the back of my head for later. I thought it would be best if we got on with the tour. "So, each cabin represents a different god or goddess?"

"Exactly. Since I am the son of Poseidon I stay right over there in cabin 3." Percy pointed towards a short-but still quite large- cabin near the sea. On the outside it had shells, coral and oceanic fossils encrusted on the sides. "It's just me though, since right now I'm the only living demigod son of Poseidon-that we know of. Enough about me! I'll show you around each of the cabins, and then to the Hermes cabin which is where you'll be staying." Percy took me around the cabins, told me which god was their patron and who was currently living in them. The final one we saw was the Hermes' cabin. Percy told me that because Hermes was the god of travelers, I'd be staying here until I was claimed.

"Percy, how long until I am claimed?"

"Not long, I promise. It may just be that your parent hasn't realized you're at camp yet. Come on, let's go inside." He took my hand and pulled me though the door. I looked around the cabin, not to be rude or anything but it wasn't anything like I had expected. There were clothes and sleeping bags strewn about the floor. It was insanely crowded, all the bunks had kids sitting on them and people were standing up talking.

As soon as I walked in, they all turned to look at me. They all had a similar look to their faces, arched eyebrows and an upturned nose. Must be the fact they were all half-brother and sister.

Percy introduced me to them, "Hey guys! This is Peggy Barnes, currently undetermined. Also, this is her first day," he coughed a little, "knowing. So, go easy on her." Everyone in the cabin smiled- some with pity, others with joy. They began to chat amongst themselves and some of them talked to me. I couldn't really hear what many of them were saying because they were all loud.

However, through all the chatter, one voice stood out to me. "Peggy!?" The voice exclaimed over the crowd. A boy shouldered his way through the rest of the campers but I couldn't really see his face. The others went silent as he approached me. He looked roughly 17 based on his height and beginnings of a beard. I still hadn't gotten a good look at his face until he stared me strait in the eyes. I could not believe it! All my life… "Peggy." His face said it all, _I'm sorry._

I lifted my hand up to my face and felt the tears well up in my eyes. _I thought I knew him so well. I'd seen him practically every week for the past 3 years of life. I thought we had a connection. Not a love connection, just something special. He seemed like a big brother to me, as he was to her._ This person, I couldn't believe it.

I pressed my face into his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. I started sobbing on his shoulder and he hugged tighter, comforting me. I couldn't believe it. Sean King, Alethea's older brother, had been living the double life of a demigod.

 **That concludes chapter 3! Sorry for the cliffhanger (Again).**

 **Happy reading my friends!**

 **I do not own PJO.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own PJO.**

 **Chapter 4.**

I stood there and cried into his shoulder for a while. So long, the other Hermes campers and Percy decided to leave the cabin and let us have our privacy. I didn't even know where to start with Sean, but I didn't have to. He began talking first.

"Peggy, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. But back then, I didn't know you were a half-blood." Sean said, still holding me tight in a hug. He was so comforting, like the brother I never had.

"It's ok, Sean." I stifled out between sniffles. "I didn't know either. I only found out today, after I… I was attacked."

"No, it's not ok." He said, his voice becoming harsher, "I should have sensed you were a demigod, then I could have protected you." Now, he was beginning to cry.

"Hey, it's not your fault, Sean. Let's just both calm down and then we can talk." He nodded silently and slowly steadied his breathing. After a few minutes, we both had stopped crying and sat down on his bunk bed.

"How did you find out?" I asked, the remanence of dried tears on my cheeks.

Sean's face turned to a puzzled look for a second before he explained, "Well, it wasn't quite as dangerous or exciting as most of the other camper's experiences were. I was at Goode, and I was friends with another demigod. They had known about the Greeks for about a year when they met me. They sensed I was a half-blood because of my dyslexia, ADHD and my extreme physical abilities. Once they had confirmed I was one of them, they brought me to camp." He tacked on a half-hearted smile.

"So, who was it that took you to camp?" I questioned but I could tell there was something wrong.

Sean turned his face away from me. "I don't want to talk about it." I felt bad, he had just gotten done crying about the fact I was a demigod and now I forced him into another touchy subject. "He's… he's dead now. He died in the last titan war." His voiced faltered. Now I was feeling twice as bad! I had just brought up a friend who had practically saved his life by taking him to camp-but died so recently.

"Oh wow. I'm sorry." I placed my hand on his shoulder and rubbed gently.

"It's fine." He sniffled and wiped his eyes with his palms. "How did you figure it out?"

"Well, it involved your sister a little-but don't worry! She wasn't in any danger." He nodded and looked at me, waiting for the rest of the story. I told him about the old woman following me, going out to lunch with Alethea, how the old women attacked and finally how Percy had saved me. "I was hurt pretty badly but luckily Will from the Apollo cabin healed me. I still have scars though." I pulled my blond hair back behind my shoulders and showed Sean the claw marks.

"Oh my gods, Peggy! Do you realize who you were attacked by?" I shook my head no; did it really matter who I was attacked by? Sean spoke in a hushed voice, "The kindly ones!" I raised my eyebrows. _The who now?_

"The kind ones? I don't get it."

"The _kindly_ ones. Also known as the furies." I gave him a look that said: so? "Peggy, I don't really think you're understanding the situation here. If they went after you, they must've been sent out by one of the Olympians; Probably one of the big three."

"Why would a god want to kill me, exactly?" I asked. I was new to the Greek mythology world but I was sure that half-bloods weren't attacked by gods on the regular.

"I'm not sure. It could be the god who sent them has a rivalry with your parent, or maybe they didn't mean for the kindly ones to kill you." Sean was rubbing his face next to his mouth, as if going through all the possibilities. Suddenly, he jumped a little as if realizing something. "We need to stop talking about this now. The gods do not like to be questioned." _Could gods really be listening in on this conversation?_ They were. I could feel their ears pressed up against our every word.

Not wanting to keep thinking about the eavesdropping gods, I asked him a question. "So, Sean, does Alethea know about you being a demigod? Hang on, is she one as well!?"

Sean raised his upper lip as if the thought disgusted him. "Eww, no. She's not a demigod. Gods usually only have an affair with a mortal once. And no, she doesn't know that I'm a half-blood, however, I was planning on telling her soon."

"How would you tell her?"

"I'm not quite sure, but I'll be sure to be patient and wait for the prefect time to tell her. It might help if you were there as well-seeing as you're her best friend." He smiled at me.

"Oh, wow. I don't even know the first thing about the gods. But if you really want me to…" I said, skeptical of what would happen if I tried to tell her about this strange world.

"Peggy, it would be immense help if you would tell her with me." There was a sudden sound which resonated throughout the camp. It was a loud, deep sound. "That'll be the dinner call. You will be eating with me at the Hermes table. Also, there are some dinner traditions that we have which you'll need to learn."

"Traditions?" I quizzed him. _Did they pray to the gods instead of God?_

"You'll see." Sean put on a smile, took my hand and we walked out the door and up to a large pavilion.

When we arrived to it, I noticed many things. The pavilion was an open-roofed Greek building. It's white granite columns perfectly reflected the light. It was near the ocean and had a wonderful view of the water. In the center of the pavilion there was a large brazier with flames inside. There were many tables neatly placed around the floor; each looked very similar except for a small symbol in the center of them. Some of the symbols included a lyre, a hammer, a staff with two snakes (the kind you see at hospitals), an owl and a lightning bolt. I assumed that each of the different cabins ate at their respective tables.

I looked around a little more and saw some new people I hadn't noticed before. There were girls who had many elf-like features and flowers in their hair who passed out food. Over at one table, sitting near where Chiron was standing was a man. I didn't want to say he was overweight but I can't lie-he was. He had messy grey-black hair and a look in his eyes saying, 'the best of my life is over'. Gross. I decided it would be best to take my mind off that and look somewhere else.

The elf-girls where passing out plates of food to the tables. There was beef brisket, rolls, strawberries and a large array of chesses.

"We'll be sitting at the Hermes' table, over there." Sean nudged me towards the table with the staff engraved in the top. "Quickly! Before all the food is gone!" Campers were filing in with their cabinmates and sitting down at their respective tables. I noticed there were a few empty tables. The one with the lightning bolt, the crescent moon, and the peacock feather. _Curious_.

We sat down at the Hermes table and it was completely packed. I was practically sitting on the floor. I filled my plate full of barbequed brisket, hot rolls and strawberries. After a long, insane day like this one, I needed to eat. I wondered if we were meant to pray to the gods so I looked around at others. I saw some people getting up with their plates and walking towards the center of the room-the brazier.

"What are they doing, Sean?" I asked.

"They're making sacrifices to the gods. We put some food into the fire and say a prayer to any of the gods but usually our parent." Sean stood up and walked over to the brazier and I followed. Once we had reached the side of it, Sean used his fork to slide some food of his plate and into the fire. I decided to sacrifice a little brisket and cheese. I didn't know exactly who to pray to or what to say so I just addressed my physic letter to whoever was listening. _Whoever might be out there listening, please help me. Let me know I really am and what my purpose is._

"Sean, why do we burn food for the gods?" I asked. I thought gods liked sheep or chickens to be sacrificed for them. Why my dinner?

"I believe it's because they like the small. You'd think burnt cheese wouldn't smell good but somehow it has an amazing aroma!" He retorted. I took a quick sniff of the smoke coming from the brazier and he was right. It smelled delightful, like cheesecake.

We walked back to our table and began to chow down on our food. Everything was delicious. All the kids at the Hermes' table were so kind and polite, even though I had just arrived at camp that day.

All of a sudden, thoughts started to hit me. _Oh my gods! What had happened to Alaine? Had she gotten home safe? What was Thea thinking about right now, after I didn't show up back at school?_ My head was spinning with questions. First, I was attacked. Then, I find out the Greek gods are real. Next, I figure out I'm the daughter of a god. Finally, my best friend's brother turns out to be a demigod! My whole sense of reality had been turned upside-down. I sighed, and rubbed my hand on my forehead.

"What's wrong? You look dreadful." Sean had noticed my confusion and mental catastrophe.

"I'm sorry, it's just a lot to take in. Mind if I ask you another question?"

"Go for it."

I decided it would be best to ask him one of the simpler questions to start off. "So, why are some of the tables empty? Do they not come to dinner or something?"

"Multiple reasons, I guess. Some maiden goddess vow never to have children, the big three hardly ever have kids because they are just too powerful and other half-bloods may just be out and about because it isn't summer yet." As he talked he gestured toward different areas of the pavilion in which there were hardly any kids sitting.

Suddenly, many of the people stopped talking, however, one voice rang out. "Hello you miserable children! I have a few announcements to make before we head over to the camp fire sing-along." It was that large-less than desirable- man from earlier who sat next to Chiron. "Firstly, we have a new camper: Peggy Barnes. Please welcome her kindly as I do not care to do so." I was liking him less and less the more he blabbed on. Alas, I smiled and waved at the mention of my name. "Next off, we have received word from the other gods that they may commission a new quest for a few demigods. Something about a lost child, not that I care much! That concludes announcements, let's head over to the fire."

A murmur broke out as campers began to stand up and walk over to the fire. There were multiple conversations going on about quests, the gods and this illusive missing child.

We all filed into the campfire area and sat with the rest of our cabinmates. I sat next to Sean because he was basically the only person here I knew-besides Percy of course.

"Campfire sing-alongs are so fun. And the coolest part is the flames reflect the mood and how fired up the campers are." I looked toward the fire and saw the flames dance, gain height and glow brighter as the singing began.

I was having fun, for once I felt like I truly belonged. Only, the fun didn't last very long.

There was a sudden flash of lightning, dangerously close to a few of the campers. The flames licked at their last breath and were finally extinguished.

 **Be sure to tell me what you think of the story so far!**

 **Happy reading my friends!**

 **I do not own PJO.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Whoop whoop!**

 **I do not own PJO.**

 **Chapter 5.**

After the flash of lightning, there was complete darkness and near silence. The only sound that could be heard was the shallow, terrified breathing of the surrounding campers. I moved my hand to the left, over to Sean's. His palm was soft and comforting but I was still scared out of my skin. I squeezed his hand tight and he held mine firmly. It seemed the darkness and silence lasted forever but it was only a second.

The light returned and resonated from the same spot the lightning had struck. In the center of the gleam there was a man.

He was old, strong and stubborn, I could tell that much. He was tall and had bright blue eyes-similar to mine. He had jet black hair and a beard with streaks of gray woven throughout. His posture and the way he presented himself with a freshly pressed pin-stripe suit said one thing: I am powerful.

When the rest of the campers caught a glimpse of him they all immediately dropped down to one knee. They tilted their heads downward out of respect for this strange man. I followed suit and kneeled to this man because I had a feeling he was important-really important.

The man spoke. His voice was calm yet with purpose, "Demigods, rise!" His voice boomed and echoed around the entire camp.

"Yes, Lord Zeus." The rest of the camper spoke in semi-unison. Everyone slowly rose from their crouched positions and tilted their heads upwards to look at Zeus.

It was at that moment that the fact hit me. This man who had just materialized from lightning, standing right in front of me was an immortal god! And not just any god, the king of all the gods, the one who slayed hiss titan father, Kronos, to free his siblings.

My whole body tensed up and I squeezed Sean's hand; my breathing became erratic. I had no idea what to do. Even in my normal life, I was a bit of a worry wart. I got nervous about almost everything. Even when I talked to teachers or someone I had hardly met, I lost my confidence and froze up. So, if I was that nervous around someone like a teacher, you can imagine how I was feeling now-in the presence of a god.

There was a small silence before Zeus spoke again. "As you may be aware, I have a small issue that needs resolving. The other gods and I are quite busy as is, with cleaning up from the titan war and all." Zeus' eyes narrowed slightly and his upper lip curled as he spoke. I noticed the other campers look down at the ground. They all had somber looks on their faces; Percy out of everyone looked especially sad. I realized the titan war was a touchy subject and a sad time for all the demigods here. "I am now going to personally issue a quest for only the strongest and most capable of demigods."

 _A quest? What would a god-king need help with from a group of teens? Perhaps he thought it was to lowly of work for him._

"There is something-" He cleared his throat, "Excuse me, _someone_ missing from Olympus. Specifically, my daughter." A ripple of gasps ran across the crowd. Whispers broke out between cabins and I could pick out a few people's conversations.

" _Did Zeus have another kid? Hera must've been furious!"_

 _"_ _Do you think he is talking about a god?"_

 _"_ _Who do you think will get to go on the quest?"_

Zeus looked annoyed by all the talking going on. "Hush! Let me finish!" All the whispering stopped at once and silence reigned once again. "She is somewhere in the mortal world. She must be returned to Olympus by the next full moon or the furies will grow hungry and attack her." _The furies?_ I recollected the name of the creatures who had attacked me earlier the same day. If they were out hunting for the child of Zeus, why would they go after me? I glanced up into the sky and swiveled my vision towards the moon on the horizon. The lit part of the moon was quite large and was originating from the right side. A waxing gibbous, which meant the full moon was in roughly 3 days.

"So, I will employ a group of 3 of you to go retrieve this precious object." Zeus scanned the crowd for anyone willing.

Now, I felt something. This wasn't just a physical sensation, no, this was a feeling in my heart. Dare I say a psychic pull? Something was tugging at me, daring me to stand tall and claim my place in this quest. But my brain thought about how bad of an idea that was, seeing as I had gotten no training whatsoever. But the feeling was just so strong, I couldn't deny that it was imperative I attended this quest. Maybe it was just that it was a chance to leave the camp and to see my sister again. Whatever it was, it made me make one of the best- or worst -choices of my entire life.

"Any volunteers?" Lord Zeus prompted, raising an eyebrow. No other demigods said a thing. Everyone was looking around at the rest of the campers to see if they went for it. _This was it. This my time to find out what my true purpose in this life was._

My hand shot into the air like someone above me was holding a rope tied to me wrist and yanked upwards. I adjusted my posture to make myself look taller and stronger. "I will go!" I spoke loudly, putting as much confidence into my voice as I could. I made sure to keep my sight on Zeus. All the campers' heads twisted to look at me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a sea of mixed expressions. Some looked shocked, some sad, others looked smug and a small amount of them seemed to be encouraging. I held my head high and waited for Zeus' response.

Zeus slowly (it seemed like forever) turned his head to look at me. He looked me over once or twice before speaking. "Who are you, girl?" His voice was harsh and very intimidating as he was speaking directly to me.

"Peggy Barnes, undetermined, my lord." I let my hand fall back to my side but kept good posture.

Zeus tilted his head slightly to the side, then sneered at me. "Undetermined, eh?" I nodded. He laughed a little to himself, "Fine. You'll attend this quest. I need 2 others to go with this Peggy Barnes."

I let out a long held in breath. Finally, I could go on this quest. However, I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. I looked to my left, at Sean. His eyes were wide at me and his mouth was hanging open. "Peggy…" He whispered, "Do you know what you've gotten yourself into? Half-bloods often die on quests. And you, you just got here. You don't stand a chance out there until you've received the proper training." He held my hand tight.

"I don't know why, but I had to." I replied.

Sean took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. He sighed and then put his hand up. "I'm going as well, Lord Zeus!"

Zeus accepted his proposal and looked for one more person. It was Percy who volunteered next. When Percy had raised his hand, Zeus looked unimpressed and frankly annoyed. But still, he accepted.

"I must take my leave now." Zeus boomed, "Those 3 of you who have been chosen, seek the oracle's advice and then leave as soon as you can. Do not waste any time." With those final words, another crash of lightning struck in Zeus' position. He was gone and the camp was back to normal except that I had just dedicated herself to the search for Zeus' lost daughter.

A long silence filled the crowd and no one spoke or moved. I slowed down my breathing to a normal pace and tried to calm all my thoughts. After roughly a minute, the silence was broken.

A girl, who looked about Percy's age, stumbled down in front of the crowd. She had curly, bright orange hair and looked as if she hadn't cleaned her clothes in a week. They were covered in paint stains and dirt. She was coughing for a few seconds before her eyes glowed a frighteningly vivid green and a similar colored smoke fell from her mouth. She spoke in an eerie tone.

"The king has come down from Olympus,

Heeding one simple request.

Three demigods must embark on a quest.

Dangerous it may be

But the goal is apparent,

Save the child of this all-powerful parent.

A life will be lost,

Only to gain a-new.

But the risk must be taken

To ultimately save you."

The girl shut her eyes tight and began to fall over. Luckily, Percy jumped out of his seat and caught her just before she hit the ground. "Rachel?" He asked with a hint of franticness in his voice. "Someone get her to the infirmary!" Percy shouted to the campers. Two kids from the Apollo cabin, Will and someone else, ran up and took Rachel in their arms. They quickly jogged with her up to an area near the big house.

"Who was that!?" I asked Sean, perplexed at what had just happened.

He explained that Rachel was a mortal who was chosen by Apollo to host the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi. She gives prophecies to demigods but can hardly ever control it. _So, what that girl just spoke of, was a prophecy about the quest?_

"Sean, what did all that mean? I don't understand."

"I don't know, prophecies often have confusing or double meanings which usually only present themselves after the quest. We'll just have to wait and see."

Chiron trotted out and spoke, "Campers, follow your counselor's instructions and head back to your cabins. You three," He motioned to Sean, Percy and I. "Go and prepare for your quest, you leave first thing tomorrow." The other campers filed out of their seats and headed toward the horseshoe shape of cabins.

I saw Percy get up and start to walk out, motioning for Sean and me to follow him. We walked over to the training arena and stopped at a door on the inside. "This is the weapons storage. I'll have you try out a few diverse types of weapons and then pick one to use on the quest." Percy informed me.

"Ok, what weapons do you two use?" I asked Percy and Sean both. I was curious as to what they used and what I would end up with.

Percy answered, "Well, as you might remember from earlier, I use a sword. It's called Riptide and it can change into a pen for easy transportation and camouflage." Percy removed a pen from his pocket and pulled off the cap. It elongated into a 3-foot-long sword made of bronze. "The coolest part is, I can never lose it. It always reappears in my pocket." He demonstrated this as well.

"I prefer the use of a two-handed sword. It makes me feel more secure and it has better strength behind its strikes. However, it has less speed in its attacks." Sean pulled a sword from a sheath on his side. It was slightly longer than Percy's sword and had a bigger grip on it- for both hands.

"Cool!" I was amazed at their cool weapons, though a little scared because they looked like they could do severe damage.

"Alrighty, let's have you try some weapons out. How about we start with a sword?"

The sword was hardly the end of it. I tried a sword, spear, staff and a bow. Nothing felt quite right so far, they were all either too heavy or clunky. That was, until we got to the last weapon Percy offered.

"These are throwing knifes, though I wouldn't personally recommend them, you can certainly use them if you wish." Percy handed me a pair of bronze knifes each about a foot long. When I held them in my hand they seemed exactly the right weight for me. My hands fit nicely around the grips. I proceeded to throw one at the nearest target with as much speed and accuracy as I could muster. I hit it directly in the center. "Wow! Looks like we've got you your weapon!" Percy looked shocked at how well I could throw.

Then, something strange happened. Just as I was about to retrieve the knife from the target, it disappeared. "What the? Where'd my knife go?" Percy and Sean looked around. Suddenly, I felt something in my hand-the dagger. "It came back?" I questioned.

"Apparently. I've never seen them do that before." Sean replied looking dumbfounded. "It seems they have chosen you."

I looked at the daggers in my hands and felt content with my choice-or the dagger's choice. "I'm ready." I said, smiling up at my two companions.

 **Wow! That took a while to write. Sorry I haven't updated recently I've had a serious case of writer's block. I hope you enjoyed so far, thanks for sticking with it.**

 **Happy reading my friends!**

 **I do not own PJO.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Greetings! Sorry for the gap in updates but I am working on another project along with this one. It should be up soon.**

 **I do not own PJO.**

 **Chapter 6.**

As the sun rose over the hill at the entrance to camp, Percy, Sean and I prepared to embark on our quest. The beautiful colors the sunrise gave off remined me of my sister Alaine and how much I longed to see her. The yellow right next to the sun made me think of her fun-loving personality and the red reminded me of her cute strawberry blonde hair. Lastly, the purple and pink sparked a thought about how caring and loving she was.

We stood at under the arch that marked the entrance to camp. I fiddled with the sheathes at my sides; they were hidden beneath the cloth of my shirt. The camp store had hooked me up with gear that I would most likely need on my journey. They gave me extra clothing, ambrosia, nectar, a few golden drachmas and the two small sheathes for my knifes.

Percy looked through his bag to check he had everything he needed while Sean proceeded to place his on the ground. He opened the top wide and unhooked his large sheath from his side. I was curious as to what he was doing, there was no way that small pack could hold his sword. But to my surprise, he simply dropped it in and the bag swallowed it up. Sean looked up to me and smiled, "Gift from my dad. It can hold quite a bit but it's not infinite."

"That's cool." I wondered if I would receive a magic gift once I knew who my godly parent was.

A group of campers had gathered near us including a few I had met the day before. Will, Rachel, Katie Gardener and Annabeth (Percy's girlfriend) were among them. Annabeth ran up beside Percy and repositioned the bag on his back. She pecked him on the cheek with a kiss and gave him a hug. "Come back safe, ok?" Annabeth asked him.

Percy put one of his arms around her side and laughed a little. "C'mon Wise girl. You and I both know that this will be easy compared to what I've been through. You think I'd die like that?" He nudged Annabeth playfully. They looked so cute together, I wished I wasn't alone.

"Never in a million years, Seaweed Brain!" She gave him one last shove back and went back to Katie, Will and the others.

Camp had lent us each a Pegasus for transportation to the city and emergencies. I got Porkpie, a pure white Pegasus with gleaming feathers. Sean was given Guido, another white Pegasus but he had a slight cream color to him. Naturally, Percy got Blackjack. We mounted our steeds and prepared to leave camp.

Percy looked toward my Pegasus and raised an eyebrow. "What? Can you hear him?" I asked.

"He says you smell funny." Percy said warily. I could tell he knew more than he was letting on. He glanced at Porkpie once more and nodded. "Ready to go guys?" He changed the subject- which I didn't like. Sean and I both nodded.

Percy smiled at the both of us and nudged Blackjack in the side lightly. "Let's go buddy!" He spoke to his Pegasus.

And I know it seems crazy because only children of Poseidon can speak to horses telepathically, but I swear I heard a "Sure thing, boss." In my head. _Perhaps I was imagining things?_ Many strange things had happened in the past few days, however, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was different. I did my best to put that thought behind me and focused on balancing on Porkpie as he took off.

One second we were on the ground waving goodbye to our fellow demigods and now we were hundreds of feet up in the air. I could stop thinking about 'Blackjack's' voice in my head so I tried to ask Percy a question to calm myself. "Hey, Percy. If you can hear Blackjack talk in your head, what does he say?"

He thought for a second and then spoke, "He's kind of annoying sometimes. He always calls me boss, even though I ask him not to. Why?"

"Oh, umm." I couldn't decide whether to tell him what I heard or not. There was no way this was just a coincidence. I thought it would be best if I kept this to myself. "No reason, I was just curious." I hoped he would buy this answer. At first, he looked at me funny but he shrugged it off.

Soon, we began to pass over New York and I could spot some landmarks. I noticed the Brooklyn bridge underneath us and the Empire State Building in the distance. There was still a swirling thick of clouds around the top. Sean pointed to the spiral in the sky and said, "That is Mount Olympus, home of the Gods." I didn't say anything, I only stared at the clouds in bewilderment. All this time, I had been living underneath a whole herd of gods and I had never batted an eye.

"Land there." Percy ordered the three pegasi while gesturing to an apartment building roof. They landed one after another and took roughly 30 feet to slow down completely. I dismounted Porkpie and landed on my feet next to him. I took in all the sounds and smells of the city below. It was good to be back, however, I wasn't sure how much I belonged here anymore.

Percy dismissed Porkpie, Guido and Blackjack back to camp.

"Where should we start our search? Lord Zeus gave us no clues as to where she might be, other than the fact she's somewhere in New York City." Sean piped up while he repositioned his sheath on his side.

Percy ran his fingers through his hair, pushing a gray streak to the side. He looked puzzled, "And with upwards of eight million people here, this will be difficult." He scanned the city for a second before speaking again. "I suggest we start searching in areas near the Empire State building or with higher monster activity."

"Let's go then! We have the rest of today, tomorrow and Saturday to get this done." I urged Percy and Sean. We descended onto the street via the fire escape and looked around for any signs of monsters. We couldn't see anything unusual so we began our hike towards the Empire State Building- or Olympus.

We scanned all the streets within a half mile radius of the building until we came across a group of shady people in a dark alley. It was a group of three girls leaning against the sides of buildings. Although this was New York and it's a daily occurrence to find drug dealers or hobos around, this wasn't the same. And don't ask me how knew because all I can explain it as, is a feeling. Something deep inside telling me _dangerous!_ And _monsters!_ I knew I had to trust my gut so I nudged Percy and Sean and tilted my head over to the group.

They seemed a little skeptical of me at first but I knew they were monsters-only hidden by the mist. "I know I'm new to this whole demigod thing guys, but I'm pretty sure they're monsters." I whispered to the two of them.

"How can you be sure, Peggy?" Sean asked ducking his head out of the line of sight of the girls. "You know if we hurt mortals whether on purpose or accidentally, the gods will smite us." He warned.

"You have to trust me on this one!" I whisper-yelled. "I just have this feeling. It's tugging at me and telling me they're dangerous and have to be stopped."

Percy and Sean both looked each other in the eyes and gave a simple nod. "Let's sneak up behind them. Peggy, you climb up onto that fire escape and attack from above." Percy gave the plan while pointing to a fire escape a few feet above the heads of the monsters.

"Got it." I pulled both of my knifes out of their sheathes and held them tightly. I made sure to breathe shallow so I wasn't heard. I took my first few steps up onto the rickety fire escape and surprisingly it didn't make a sound beneath my feet. I watched as Percy uncapped his sword and Sean pulled his out of the sheath on his side. They crouched down and snuck closer and closer to the three.

I had almost reached the top of the flight of stairs and noticed that as I moved closer to the three girls, they started to change. Their skin grew pale and eyes turned a deep shade of red. Shaggy hair began to form on one of their legs while the other shifted into bronze.

I was right-and the looks on the boy's faces showed they knew too- these girls were for sure monsters. One of the monsters sniffed the air for one moment and turned directly to face Percy and Sean. "Demigods! Get them!" The other two creatures ran towards them, bearing incredibly sharp fangs. I deduced the monster who had just given the order to attack was the leader. It was my job to get her, but I had to wait for just the right time to strike.

Percy blocked a few strikes which the demon girl threw at him. He lunged in and managed to take a good chunk out of its arm. Golden dust began pouring out of the wound, however it wasn't enough to kill it. Meanwhile, Sean was battling the other monster and he already had a few gashes on his skin. This wasn't anywhere near enough to stop him, though, and he took the first opening he saw and slashed his sword. The blow had strength behind it and went clean into the monster's side. It exploded in golden powder which went everywhere. A few seconds later, Percy struck his monster strait in the heart and it did the same.

The leader of the group was furious and was about to charge my friends. This was my chance, I had to kill her but first it was important that I got any information she had about the location of Zeus' child.

I jumped down from the fire escape and landed just a few inches behind the monster. I wrapped my arms around the back of her neck and positioned my knifes against her neck. "Tell me where I can find the child of Zeus, you beast!" Immediately all the muscles in the monster's body tightened and she swallowed.

"You'll never find her." The leader choked out and I pressed my blades deeper against her neck. Some dust seeped out. "Not even I know where she is! All types of monsters are out looking for her at this very moment."

"Why do they want her?" I interrogated her.

"To kill her, of course. The last thing we monsters need is another god!" She wheezed.

I could tell that was all the information she knew and that I was going to get out of her. I pivoted my daggers in my hands and then drove them inter her neck. Golden powder spilled out of her and onto my arms. Then she completely turned to the dust and was gone.

I sheathed my daggers and looked up to Percy and Sean. They looked back to me, surprised. "Nice job, Peggy!" Sean hit me on the back, "You did amazing for your first battle."

"Thanks. But you guys were fabulous as well, I couldn't have fought that close to one of them, umm," I couldn't think of the proper name for these monsters.

"Empousai." Percy corrected.

"Yeah, empousai." I looked Percy over and noticed he didn't have a single scratch on him. "Percy, you're unscathed! How is that possible?"

Percy then explained that he bared the Achilles curse and how he was invincible all except for one part on his body. Though for safety, he couldn't tell anyone where that spot was.

"I see," Sean however was a completely different story than Percy. He had scratches all over his body and was currently scarfing down some ambrosia to heal himself.

I glanced up at the sky and saw then sun just barely peaking over the horizon. "It looks like it's getting late guys." I stated.

"Oh no!" Percy exclaimed, "I hadn't even thought about where we were going to sleep tonight!"

"Don't sweat it, Perce." Sean said, finishing off his ambrosia square. "We can crash at my place. My parents are out on business and my sister should be in bed soon. We'll just need to leave before she wakes up."

"Perfect!"

We walked the few blocks to Sean's apartment building and scaled the many flights of stairs. We waited outside until we were sure Alethea would be asleep. Finally, Sean peeked his head through the front door then waved us inside. All the lights were off and the room was quiet. We robbed the refrigerator for food and began to eat. It was quiet for a while because we didn't want to wake Alethea until we heard footsteps coming down the hall.

The lights flickered on and we saw Alethea standing in the doorframe. "Sean, Peggy?!" Her eyes were wide.

Sean pushed himself to his feet and cleared his throat, "Alethea, I want you to go to bed."

"No, I won't, Sean!" She yelled, "I won't just walk away this time! You owe me an explanation, now!"

 **And that concludes chapter 6! I hope you guy are all enjoying the story so far because I know I am having an amazing time writing it for you.**

 **Happy reading my friends!**

 **I do not own PJO.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A huge thanks to my friend Jacey W. who created the cover for my book on wattpad.**

 **I do not own PJO.**

 **Chapter 7.**

Sean closed his eyes and thought for a second before speaking. "Come sit down, Alethea. You might want to." He pulled a chair back for her to sit in.

Thea looked thoroughly annoyed with Sean but she complied. Strangely, she staggered over to her chair and blinked her eyes as if trying to stay awake.

She sat across from me and to the left of Sean. You could see the bags under her eyes and the tired look on her face. I could definitely tell that she hadn't slept in days; probably from my disappearance.

I grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly to reassure her. "Now Alethea, all of what we are about to tell you is going to be a lot to take in. It will also be very dangerous for you to have this knowledge. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"I have to know." She prodded.

"Very well." Sean sighed, "You know how I disappear to a boarding school for people with dyslexia, ADHD or other problems for most of the year?"

"Y-yeah…" Alethea answered.

"It's a lie. All these years I have been going to a summer camp," He thought for a second, "A camp for kids with special abilities like me, Peggy and Percy here." He gestured to the three of us while speaking.

"Abilities? What do you mean, Sean?"

"I mean that we are not like normal people. In Greek _myths_ Gods would come down from Olympus and have children with mortals. Well, us three are the offspring of, well… gods."

"You absolutely cannot be serious." She gaped at the three of us. I could tell the information just wasn't processing in her brain. Perhaps it was too much for any mortal to take in all at once.

Sean spoke, "I am dead serious, Thea. Hermes is my father and he found mom attractive because of how much she traveled around the world. But gods never stay for-"

He was cut off by Alethea, "That means you're- you're all half-" She stopped mid-sentence. I knew she couldn't take it all.

Her eyes rolled back slightly so I could see more white than what was normal and she collapsed on the ground. Her head hit the floor first; pretty hard might I add.

"Alethea!" Sean and I yelled in tandem. All three of us jumped out of our chairs and ran to her side. I placed my fingers at the side of her neck to check for a pulse.

"Her heartbeat is way too slow and she isn't breathing! What happened? What do we do?" I squeaked, on the verge of tears. Alethea's skin was beginning to pale, she looked awful.

Percy was surprisingly calm for the circumstances, "She must've feinted from exhaustion and the shock." Some blood began to pool up on the floor beneath Alethea's head. "I'm not sure what we can do. If we give her nectar and ambrosia she will literally burn up."

"Do either of you know CPR?" Sean spoke up, frantic. I could for sure tell he was crying and at this point I was too. Both Percy and I shook our heads violently.

"We need to get her breathing and fast. Seeing as we have no children of Apollo here to heal her, I guess we'll have to call upon Apollo himself." Percy stated.

"Ok, quickly then."

Percy scrambled up to the gas stove and turned it on. He then proceeded to dump whatever foods he found on the table into the flames. Specifically, pasta, burgers and half of a grilled cheese. He ran back to us and got down on his knees. As the food burned up, he began to chant over and over: "Oh great lord Apollo, please accept our sacrifice and help us in our time of need. Please, oh please save our friend."

Soon enough, Sean and I got down on our knees and joined him.

The blood pool on the floor was beginning to spread further and I could tell Alethea would die within a few more seconds without help. I began to lose hope and was thinking of saying my final goodbyes to her when a bright, golden light filled my vision.

The light was so brilliant, I couldn't see for a few moments. Finally, the glare cleared and I could see what was happening.

A young man roughly 20 years old was standing over Alethea's body. He had perfectly clear, tanned skin and blonde hair. He stood at least 7 feet tall and he radiated power. _Apollo!_ A glimmer of hope returned to me as soon as I saw him.

Apollo knelt to down to Alethea's side and lifted her up in his arms as if she weighed as much as a feather. Blood dripped from her scalp and colored her hair a deep red. A smile of pity appeared on Apollo's face and he pushed the blood-stained hair to the side of her face.

Apollo began to sing a beautiful song and the blood flow stopped. As he continued the color returned to her skin and her eyes rolled back forward. Her eyelids closed and her chest began to rise and fall, signaling she was breathing again.

"Alethea," I whispered under my breath. Tears of joy began to well up in my eyes.

Alethea's eyes fluttered open barely and she looked Apollo strait in the face. "Wh-who… who are y-you?" She stifled out, obviously weak.

"I am Apollo, child." He smiled down at her. "Greek god of the sun, light, healing, music, poetry, archery, reason and prophecy."

Alethea looked surprised (as much as she could, considering she was practically half asleep at the time). Her eyes widened and she gasped when she finally comprehended who was cradling her in their arms. "Th- they weren't lying…" Tears formed in her eyes and she shut them tightly while covering her face with her hands.

"Don't be sad or sorry. Just be thankful your friends and brother called for me when they did." Apollo said in the most gentle voice ever. "I must return to Olympus now. Goodbye Percy, Sean, Peggy and Alethea." How he knew my name, I did not know. Apollo set Alethea down on the couch and disappeared in another blinding flash of light.

Before everything returned to normal I heard Apollo's voice in my head.

 _At this quest's conclusion,_

 _You will find who you truly are._

 _I am so cool._

I thought about what Apollo could have meant by that. I am so cool, talk about bad writing. Also, who I truly am? Did that mean I would find out who my godly parent was? There was only one way to find out and that was completing the quest. But for now, we had to calm Alethea down and get to bed.

Alethea sat on the couch looking petrified. Her hands were shaking badly and her hair and clothes were still covered in blood. "So, the gods are real, then." She said, not looking at any of us.

"Yes, they are, Thea." Sean said. He sat down next to her and held her hand. "Percy is the son of Poseidon, I'm the son of Hermes and Peggy hasn't been claimed yet.

"That means you're not even my brother." She said finally looking at Sean.

Sean sighed, "I'm your half-brother. Now let's get you to bed; You need sleep and so do we. The three of us have a quest to complete in the coming days."

Alethea nodded and slowly got to her feet. Sean lead her into her bedroom and us three demigods fell asleep on the couch.

 **. . .**

The following morning, we awoke just as the sun was rising. We prayed a quick thank you to Apollo as he flew across the sky in his sun… city bus.

Percy, Sean and I left the apartment before Alethea got up and continued our search for Zeus' long lost child.

We walked along the streets in silence until Percy spoke up, "I think our best bet is to keep searching the city for areas with high monster activity. Monsters will most likely be swarming around the kid." Percy suggested.

"Sounds good to me. We should keep working diligently because we only have today and tomorrow to finish this quest." Sean added.

We searched around the city for a majority of the day. We encountered a giant scorpion and a pack of four hellhounds. The scorpion was easily bested by the three off us, however, the hellhounds were a different story.

Sean had successfully sneak attacked the first of the four hounds. But that earned him the attention of the other three. Percy and I were able to get two of the hellhounds off of him but the third had him pinned and without a weapon.

Percy was busy fighting off the largest of the remaining three and I was dodging the attacks of mine. Out of the corner out of my eye I could see the other hellhound's teeth coming closer to Sean. It would strike him in a matter of seconds so I had to do something. However, at the same time I had to avoid the jaws of my pursuer.

I saw the jaws of the hellhound who was pinning down Sean open and the hellhound attacking me back away, slightly. _This is my chance!_

With all my strength, I threw one of my knifes towards the hellhound attacking Sean. It struck the beast in the side of the neck. This made the hound tumble off Sean and allowed to retrieve his weapon.

I turned back to my opponent and saw he was on his on his haunches. He pounced and I saw him fly towards me, jaw open. Suddenly I felt my knife reappear in my hand. I knew I had a chance if I struck at just the right moment.

As soon as the hellhound came crashing down on me, his mouth surrounded my entire body but he had not yet closed his jaws. I drove my knifes into the roof of his mouth and he disintegrated into shimmering, golden dust before he could bite. I caught a glimpse of Percy and Sean finishing off their hellhounds.

We regrouped, sat down and talked.

"Thanks Peggy," Sean said while finishing off an ambrosia square. "I would have been done for if you hadn't thrown him off me."

"No problem." I replied. "I know the both of you would've done the same for me."

"Got that right!" Percy yelled happily. "Now let's go grab some grub I'm starving." I hadn't realized it yet but so was I. The three of us hadn't eaten anything since breakfast at Sean's place (other than ambrosia) and it was now 6:00 in the evening.

"I know a place." I said. There was a diner my foster family had taken Alaine and I to multiple times. "It's called Italian Happenings, they have great pizza."

Sean and Percy happily agreed and we made our way to the restaurant. We took a table in the corner next to the window. Multiple people (including the waitress) gave us funny looks because of our torn-up clothes.

A few minutes after we ordered, a blood-red bike pulled into the parking lot. Riding it was a bulky man with a leather jacket and sunglasses.

Percy tensed up, "We should go, now."

"Why?" I asked.

Percy narrowed his eyes at the man as he dismounted his bike. "Ares."

 **Hope you enjoyed chapter 7. I was laughing out loud when I wrote Apollo's poem (It's such a good reoccurring joke). The same thing happens whenever the 'dam' joke comes up in other fanfiction.**

 **Happy reading my friends!**

 **I do not own PJO.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I got about halfway through this chapter and my computer had to restart and I realized afterwards I hadn't saved this document since halfway through chapter 7. Remind me to save my documents in the future!**

 **I do not own PJO.**

 **Chapter 8.**

Ares walked towards the front doors of the building and straightened out his leather jacket. When he opened the glass door to the diner he had to duck down a little to get through.

Everyone looked uneasy as soon as he walked in. They shifted in their chairs and stared at him strutting over to our table. Our table was obviously the most put-off by his presence. Probably because we could sense his aura the most and we knew who he truly was.

Sean looked like he was about to pick a fight with someone at the table next to us, Percy seemed as if he was going to snap the table in half and frankly, I was just terrified. Ares was so buff and tall. The look on his face said: touch me and I break you.

Ares snatched a chair from a nearby table and set it next to ours with a thud. "What's up, punks?" He asked smugly. When he finally pulled of his sunglasses it revealed a scar on his eyebrow and that his pupils appeared to be on fire. Not literally on fire, it just had the illusion of a tiny burning flame.

"What do you want, _Ares_?" Percy responded snobbishly, completely ignoring his question. Ares' aura was definitely affecting him.

"Woah chill kid, I'm not here to pick any fights. I can to give you some advice on your quest." Ares said. "Now, who's the newbie here?" He prodded, gesturing towards me.

I couldn't let myself appear weak in front of the god of war. So, I straightened my posture and spoke in a strong tone. "Peggy Barnes, sir! Currently unclaimed but that doesn't deter me from completing this quest!"

Ares looked surprised. "Unclaimed? You got guts going on a quest, girl. Especially one for Zeus himself."

"It was my chance to prove myself, Lord Ares." I had to look strong!

I focused on Ares' face and heard a small voice in my head that sounded like his but more echoed. I could only make out a few words but I got the gist. _Impressive_ -incomprehensible mumbling- _the one._ He 'said'.

Did I just read his mind? A similar thing happened with Blackjack! Perhaps it was a clue to who my godly parent was. I would ask Percy later.

Ares looked at me skeptically before he spoke, "Anyways, I came to tell you that Zeus is becoming impatient. He says by the full moon which is tomorrow night that it will be too late for his daughter. Also, if you fail to bring the goddess to Olympus you won't see the light of day." He grinned. It seemed as though the sight of demigods being pulverized was pleasing to him. _Disgusting._ Our lives were just as valuable.

"We'd better get back to work then, Ares." Sean said, lowering his eyebrows. I think he was attempting to get Ares to leave the restaurant.

Ares stood up and put back on his glasses. He slid the extra chair under the other table and then spoke one last time. "I have things to do on Olympus. Later, punks." He smiled at us one more time and then stalked out of the restaurant.

He hopped onto his bike and sped away down the street, probably off to start fights.

"Thank the gods!" I sighed in relief.

"No kidding." Sean replied. "Seemed kind of useless for him to come down here just to tell us we'll be pulverized if we don't complete the quest. Isn't that the usual protocol?"

"Ha! Who knows!" Percy yelled. "Maybe he just came here to rub it in and make us nervous. That is how Ares rolls after all."

Then, I remembered the voices I had heard in my head and decided to ask Percy about them. "Hey Perce, I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this but I keep hearing, umm-" I was cut off by the waitress rushing over to our table.

"Oh my Lord!" She exclaimed. "Who was that strange man? Should I call the police?" She lifted her phone up to her face and began to type in some numbers.

"No! No, please don't! We know him!" The three of us practically jumped out of our seats to stop her. I could only imagine how ticked off the god of war would be if three demigods let a mortal call the police on him.

"Oh! Ok, ok I won't call if you insist you know that man." She said a little frightened by our sudden outburst. "Your order will be out in just a moment." She left and entered the kitchen.

Out in public probably wasn't the best place to talk about my psychic happenings so I decided to wait until we were alone.

Our pizzas came out and we ate like pigs. We were starving from a long day of fighting monsters. We checked the time and we had about an hour before the sun went down. It was no use searching in the dark because we couldn't see the monsters very well.

There was no monster activity in the last hour of the day so we took the hike back to Sean's apartment.

As we walked through the doors we saw just one light on, in the living room. In there was Alethea sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket. She didn't look like her usual self. Instead of looking happy and perfect she seemed depressed. Her normally strait, strawberry blonde hair was tangled. She was tired and the shock of the gods existing was still affecting her.

"Hi, Thea." I said as gently as possible while sitting down next to her. "How are you doing?" I stroked her hair in an attempt to comfort her.

"Better. I didn't go to school today." Was all she said. She turned to me and smiled weakly.

"I see, that's good that you are feeling better." I replied. "What's on your mind?"

"It scares me, Peggy." She looked at me and her brown eyes held fear. "The fact that you guys are in constant danger and you risk your lives daily; not to mention the majority of people don't even know it! That, that terrifies me." He cupped her face in her hands and cried quietly.

"Hey, hey, its ok." I rubbed her back. Percy and Sean walked over silently and sat on the floor next to the couch. Sean took one hand away from Alethea's face and held it in his. He looked her directly in the eyes. His dirty blond hair fell over his piercing blue eyes. It was only now in this tender situation that I realized his 'Hermes kid' features; The upturned nose and sharp eyebrows.

"There's no need to worry for us, Thea. We're demigods and we were built for battle." Alethea looked up at Sean as he spoke. "I promise you that all three of us will make it out of this quest of this alive." Sean's voice was so convincing that I almost believed him myself.

"Thanks Sean." She replied, wiping tears out of her eyes.

"Why don't you go to bed, Alethea. Sleep is probably the best thing for you right now." Percy stated.

"Ok. You three get some sleep as well." She said while walking slowly to her bedroom down the hallway.

"Got it, goodnight!" I yelled as she shut the door to her room. The three of us immediately flopped down because we were so tired. "Guys, we only have to tomorrow to find Zeus' stupid kid." I warned.

"I know," Sean said. "And I just lied to Alethea. Frankly, our chances at completing this quest are now zero. We have no leads and are so tired we can barely stand. How are we going to pull this off?" He asked us.

I rubbed my face. "I have no idea!"

"I guess our only choice is to continue the search tomorrow and hope for the best." Percy said, yawning.

"Perhaps you're right." I said, still not accepting the fact that the deadline was tomorrow night. "But there has to be something more to this quest! I just know it!" I whisper-yelled.

" _You never know, maybe we were just destined to fail_." Sean said in a monotone (Or at least I thought he did).

"Don't think like that! We have to be positive, Sean." I refuted.

Sean suddenly sat up and stared at me. "I didn't say that out loud, Peggy. How did you know what I was thinking…" He asked me suspiciously.

"I don't know how." I admitted. "The same thing happened with Ares and Blackjack. Suddenly I could hear their voices in my head and they weren't even speaking out loud."

Sean looked baffled. "Get out of my head, please."

"I'm out." I said putting my hands up in defense.

Percy rubbed his chin, thinking. "Hmm… this could be a sign of who your godly parent is. However, I've never heard of demigods possessing the ability to read minds. Aphrodite kids can control other's minds and Hypnos' children can force others to sleep- sometimes."

"I doubt I'm an Aphrodite kid." I said chuckling at the thought. I had never been the most fashionable kid with makeup and trendy clothes.

"Maybe Hypnos then, but we won't know for sure until you're claimed. Goodnight you two." Percy said to Sean and I before rolling over onto his side and shutting his eyes.

"Goodnight." Sean and I said quietly in unison. I had the thought of who my godly parent was in my mind until I finally fell asleep.

That night I dreamt of the punishment Zeus would put us through if we failed to bring back his child. I imagined him killing off Percy and Sean right in front of me. And the worst part of it was that I had no power to stop him and his torture. For some reason my worst fear wasn't spiders or heights, it was failure and being powerless. It would be terrifying if I knew I was going to die, or my friends were going to die but I couldn't be of any help.

My last image of the dream was Zeus throwing thee three of us down into the underworld to rot with the spirits of the dead.

 **. . .**

I jerked awake, the thought of the underworld still lingering in the back of my head. I saw the sun just peaking over the horizon and knew there was no time for us to waste. Today was the last day to search for the child.

I nudged Sean and Percy both until I saw their eyelids flutter open. "Guys, guys! We have to leave to go search." I prodded them awake.

Sean sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. Percy only rolled over and covered up his face, "Five more minutes Mom, please!"

 _What?_ "Percy I'm not your mom, I'm Peggy. Now, let's go." I said sternly.

Percy lifted up his head, realizing he wasn't in his bed at his own house. "Oh. Ok, I'm getting up!"

The three of us washed up a little in the bathroom. When I looked in the mirror I didn't even look like myself anymore. My once-blonde hair was all knotted and stained with blood. Everything I was wearing was scratched up from the multiple battles. This was the most exhausting, yet exhilarating thing that had happened to me in my entire life. _Let's do this._ I said to myself in my head.

After eating a quick breakfast we ran out of the apartment to continue our search.

We shortly came across a small drakon in a deep back alley. The creature was digging through a dumpster. It had scaly, red skin and large horns on its head. It had small wings at its sides (probably too little for the monster to fly). The drakon was roughly 25 feet long.

"We'll need to be super careful with this one. Some drakons are known to have fire or acid breath. And most of them possess the ability to paralyze with just its stare." Percy warned Sean and I.

Apparently the drakon had extremely good hearing because it turned to look at us. Its tail was swinging back and forth in anger. We had to act now before it ate us.

Percy and Sean ran around to the sides of the creature so we had it trapped. Both of them went to attack at the same time but only Percy landed the hit. Riptide went straight into the drakon's neck but it didn't phase him. The monster turned to Sean and ripped his blade clean out of his hands and tossed it out of the way. He knocked Sean off of his feet and then turned to Percy.

I charged up to the drakon and attempted to slide underneath its chin and stab into its neck but I failed. I missed the strike because the drakon was moving and striking at Percy. I was now underneath the belly of this beast. Then, Percy made the mistake of looking into the drakon's eyes and becoming temporarily incapacitated. The creature kicked me with his hind legs which threw me into the corner of the alleyway. I was now trapped.

 **That chapter went on longer than I expected. I certainly hope everyone reading is enjoying the story. Also, if you have any constructive criticism for me or find any grammatical errors please let me know. I am always wanting to improve my work.**

 **Happy reading my friends!**

 **I do not own PJO.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own PJO.**

 **Chapter 9.**

The drakon turned its enormous head towards me and began to lumber over to my position. It stalked up to me slowly. I tried to look away but it was too late. The drakon had already paralyzed me. All I could do now was sit and watch him kill me.

I could hear its breath clearly; in through the nose and out of the mouth with smoke. This one was definitely a fire-breather.

I tried with all my might to move my hand over to one of my knives on the ground but I was incapacitated. I seemed so helpless in that moment, my knife was only a few inches from my fingertips. _I was so weak!_

As the creature came closer, it opened its jaw wide. I could smell its breath which reeked of blood. Saliva dripped from its top teeth and down onto the ground.

A small ember began to burn in the back of the drakon's throat. It was preparing to scorch me with its fire breath.

 _This was the end? After the entire quest and all the battles I have fought, this is how I die? And I'm not even going down with a fight, I'm just sitting here in submission to death_.

The fire in grew larger and the heat of it burned my eyes.

I couldn't believe this was how the quest ended. All three of us unable to do anything. I at least wanted to make it until the full moon, whether or not I fulfilled the quest. I had lost hope until I saw a few young girls standing atop the buildings above me. At this point, my eyes were burning so much my vision was blurry, however, I could make out at least five silhouettes.

The tallest of the five raised her hand and shouted, "FIRE!"

Immediately, the other silhouettes made a sharp movement together. Arrows rained down onto the drakon, which threw it off its feet and onto the ground. The heat soon faded away my vision cleared and I could see six teenage girls all with silver jackets and combat boots on. They each had a pair of hunting knives and a long, silver bow.

The tallest one who had issued the command had short, jet black hair and piercing blue eyes. She lowered her fist and pointed toward the drakon laying on the ground. She yelled once more, "Hunters attack!"

Promptly, all of the girls, including the leader, unsheathed their hunting knives. They leapt from the rooftop and down to the drakon, ready to attack. Three of them jumped onto the scaly back of the monster and began to slash their knives in the chinks of the drakon's strong armor. The other three went and stabbed the less armored parts of the creature's hide. One girl went for the side of the monsters' neck and the last to stabbed its underbelly.

In just a few seconds, the drakon vaporized into golden dust and was gone. I could feel the paralysis lifting and I slowly began to move my limbs. I grabbed my knives and shoved them into their sheaths.

The girl who had black hair walked gently over to me while sheathing both of her knives and slinging her bow over her shoulder. She offered me her right hand and spoke gently, "Hi, I'm Thalia." I felt like I had heard that name before somewhere. "Let me help you up."

I gladly took her hand and she hoisted me up onto my feet. "Thanks for saving me! But, who exactly are you girls?" I asked gesturing to the rest of her group.

Thalia smiled. "We, are the hunters of Artemis. Eternal maidens who have turned their backs on men to join the hunt. Some of us are demigods like you, I'm the daughter of Zeus. While others are just regular humans or nymphs." _Hunter!_ That's where I had heard her name from. While Percy was giving me a tour of camp, he mentioned something about 'Thalia the hunter' during our visit to the Zeus cabin. "Now who might you be?" She asked me. We began to walk over to the other hunters, as well Percy and Sean who had started to talk with them.

"I'm Peggy Barnes, unclaimed." I replied, and Thalia made a soft sound of pity.

"That's rough, but you're strong. I promise you'll figure things out soon enough." We were now with the rest of the group. "Hey Kelphead, hey Sean. You two ok?" Thalia asked them.

"We're good. Just a few minor scratches, thanks to you and the hunters." Sean answered.

"Yeah, without you we would have been dead meat. Thanks." Percy added on.

"So, are you three on a quest then?" One of the other hunters asked us. She had ginger hair and freckles. Thalia later explained to me that her name was Pheobe.

"Yes, we are. We are trying to find Zeus' lost child but the deadline is tonight. We aren't exactly sure how we are going to pull this off by then." I replied to the girl.

Thalia offered for the hunters to help for the rest of the day which we happily accepted.

The strategy was to split up into groups and search streets and alley ways. Then every so often we would meet up to make sure everyone was accounted for. If someone spotted a monster (or hopefully the child) they were to light off a moon flare. A moon flare was one the newest pieces of Hunter gear. It shot a stream of silver sparks into the sky, however, it was invisible to mortals who hadn't taken the oath to join the hunters.

Sean and Percy were in a group (because none of the hunters wanted to be alone with a male), Thalia and I were together, and the rest of the hunters split into two groups; one group of two hunters and one group of three.

Thalia and I jogged down the street and checked in each of the alleyways for any sign of the child. "Random question, Peggy. Who do you _want_ your godly parent to be?"

I was panting a little because Thalia was so fast I had to work hard to keep up with her. "Who do I want to be my parent?" I repeated the question. "I'm not sure. I haven't really felt a connection to any of them yet. Plus, none of my 'powers' you could say match up with a specific one."

"I see. Usually it seems pretty obvious once you've been claimed." She said reassuringly.

We continued to jog and run around the city for another few hours, meeting up in one large group every half an hour. Nothing changed until the last time we met up.

Thalia and I met up with the group of three hunters. Soon after, Percy and Sean came jogging toward us with a somber look on their faces.

"Still nothing." Percy said as he reached the group.

"Same here. We've searched all of New York City and still nothing." I said rubbing my face.

"Where are the other two hunters?" Sean asked.

"Phoebe and Junia?" Asked a hunter with dark brown hair in a French braid, whose name was Layla. Sean nodded. "We haven't seen them yet. I hope they're ok." She said with a worried expression.

Just then, a fountain of silver sparks flew up into the sky, originating from a few blocks down. "That must be them!" Thalia shouted, "They must have found something! Follow me!" She took off running so fast I had trouble keeping up. We sprinted down the alleyway we guessed they were in and pulled out our weapons. There was one corridor of the alley way to the left of us and another, darker one further down and to the right.

"Where could they be?" Layla asked loudly over the sounds of the city.

"I don't know, Layla. They have to be ar-" Thalia was cut off by a gut-wrenching screech from the corridor to the right.

Suddenly, Pheobe, the hunter with red hair, flew out of the alley and hit the brick wall of a building. She recoiled off the wall and landed roughly on her side. There were large wounds all over her including a gash on her side so deep, you could fit a quarter inside and stitch it back up.

The roar of a humongous monster rang out through the alley.

Mara, one of the hunters, rushed to Phoebe's side and began to feed her nectar and ambrosia. "Charge!" Thalia ordered. The rest of us ran full speed into the alley and were confronted with a hideous nine-headed, dragon-like creature. Each of the heads had two horns and a snake-like tongue flicking in and out of its mouth. The heads and necks slithered around and sniffed in all different directions. In total, the monster was about 30 feet long.

Then we saw the lifeless body of the hunter Junia next to a dumpster.

"One of you go help her!" Percy yelled over the roars of the creature. The hunter named Naomi nodded and ran to go assist the fallen hunter. "Now, to kill the hydra we have to somehow burn each of the heads off."

"We have flaming arrows." Layla offered.

"I got it!" I exclaimed. "Percy, Sean and I could rush the hydra and cut off its heads one by one. Then Layla and Thalia could fire flaming arrows at the stumps from a distance just before it regrows."

"It's worth a try." Percy said. "Let's get going then!" The three of us charged off while Thalia and Layla pulled out their bows.

As soon as we were within reach of the hydra's heads, a blur of scales, horns, narrowed eyes and fangs lunged at us. We had to try our best to dodge all nine of them and attack at the same time. Sean jumped to the side of the hydra and managed to evade its attacks. One of the heads lunged at him but he swung his sword upwards. It was sliced off before it had even reached him.

Thalia and Layla looked around but couldn't quite see where Sean had cut off the head. The mass of moving heads, biting and dodging made it extremely hard to focus. It was too late, the monster had already regenerated its entire head and the new head looked even more angry.

"We have to go faster! We can to do this!" I cried. Sean and Percy already seemed to be out of breath from only a minute of this battle, but my exclamation seemed to raise morale.

Sean tried again to cut off another head and aimed perfectly. The head fell to the ground. Immediately after they saw it was cut off, Thalia and Layla fired their bows. A fire was lit on the tips of each of their arrows as they flew through the air. The each landed on the bloody stump and the fire spread across the wound.

I dodged a few more attacks by the hydra and when I looked back, the wound had been completely scorched and no other head had grown back. "It worked!" I hollered to Percy and Sean, "Let's keep going!" Now the three of us were determined to finish the job.

Next, I put my knives to the sides of one of the necks and sliced inwards. The head came off easily and I jumped out of the way, so the hunters could set it alight. Soon the stump was blackened and rendered useless.

Percy then sliced off two heads at once with riptide. Thalia and Layla landed both of the shots with ease and both of the stumps were burned.

We continued this tactic until no more heads remained. Throughout the battle the three of us had only received minor injuries which was nothing a little bit of ambrosia couldn't fix. I was bitten once in my right arm and stabbed by one of the horns in my left leg.

After Percy, Sean and I finished up our ambrosia squares we saw Phoebe draped over one of the hunter's shoulders hobbling into the area. She looked as if she was about to fall asleep on top of the hunter. We rushed over to her to see how she was doing. Thalia and Layla rushed over as well and helped the hunter to support the weight of Pheobe.

"How is she?" Thalia asked calmly.

"She'll recover well." Said the hunter who had carried Phoebe in. "She's just exhausted. Firstly, from the fight and then all the nectar and ambrosia." She smiled over her shoulder at Phoebe's freckled face.

Slowly, Phoebe looked up at us smiled weakly. "Thank you for coming to save Junia and I." She coughed and rested her head back on the hunter's shoulder.

Thalia gasped and looked over at the hunter who we had found unconscious when we entered the alley, Junia. She had dirty-blonde hair which was stained with blood and in a ratty ponytail. "Junia!" Thalia yelled.

The five of us rushed over to Junia's side and the hunter who was watching over her looked up at us. "How is she, Naomi?"

Naomi shook her head somberly and her brown hair fell over her shoulders. She began to cry and sputtered out words between sniffles, "She- she was al-already gone when I-I got to her s-side." Thalia knelt down next to Naomi and began to stroke her back.

"There was nothing you could do if she was already gone." She comforted.

Just then, a silvery light filled the alley, reaching even the darkest corners and crevasses. When the glow died down everyone was on one knee facing the area where the silver glimmer originated.

"Lady Artemis." Thalia addressed the figure that was standing in the light. Artemis had long Auburn hair that was tied up in a messy bun and piercing silver eyes. She was incredibly beautiful. She had a strong build and was tall. A glittering white toga with silver accents was draped over her shoulders.

Artemis looked sadly down at the lifeless body of Junia. "Another one." She said gently but with power. "And so soon after the Titan War. I will give her a place in the stars with the other fallen hunters."

Thalia nodded, "She was an outstanding warrior. And she died in a worthy battle."

"Of, course. Let us all have a moment of silence in honor of her." Artemis spoke calmly. We sat quietly for a few minutes. Naomi was grasped in the arms of Thalia, sobbing.

Then, the crack of thunder echoed across the city, however, the only cloud in the sky was surrounding the top of the empire state building. It must've been Zeus. I looked up, almost terrified of what I might see.

The moon was full and directly above us.

"I think you three already know what that means," Lady Artemis looked to Percy, Sean and me. "Your time is up."


End file.
